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We roll on, into another May week that will bring OTAs and more offseason fun here on the NFC East blog. And with a hat tip to Justin from B-More, we'll start varying the order of the links this week.

Washington Redskins

Tim Hightower played the free-agent field, sure, but he says Washington was always "home" and where he wanted to be all along. Now that he's home, of course, the question is whether he's healthy enough to hold up as the Redskins' starting running back.

Rich Tandler takes a look at the depth chart at wide receiver and tight end, where the Redskins face potentially tough decisions with Santana Moss and Chris Cooley. Rich seems to figure each will stick around, but it's obviously not a sure thing for either one.

Dallas Cowboys

Deon Grant said the Cowboys were one of the teams interested in him. Calvin Watkins asked around and found out that wasn't true. As much as I like Grant, a personable fellow whose accessibility and insight helped a great deal with several stories and columns late last season, I'm inclined to believe Calvin here, since he has less incentive to make his up. This could have been a Giants link, too, since I'm sure the Giants haven't ruled out Grant. (Again, personable guy. Good to have around.) But Ohm didn't write about it and Calvin did, and these are the links.

The guy everyone's talking about this week as a potential Laurent Robinson replacement is Andre Holmes, and Tim MacMahon explains why that is.

New York Giants

Lawrence Taylor's Super Bowl XXV ring, which was put on sale by Taylor's son and not Taylor himself, fetched more than $230,000 at auction. There was some foolishness Saturday with Osi Umenyiora saying he'd buy it if he got to 500,000 Twitter followers. I saw it, didn't think it was worth interrupting a May Saturday over. Osi has been very entertaining on Twitter in his short time there so far, but if he thought he was going to get from 20,000 to 500,000 in a day, he doesn't understand it very well. I mean, jeez. He's not Justin Bieber.

Jorge Castillo did a nice feature on German-born 26-year-old Giants rookie Markus Kuhn, to whom the game of football is still relatively new.

Philadelphia Eagles

Bleeding Green Nation looks at the members of the Eagles' 2010 draft class for whom 2012 is a "make it or break it" year, including Brandon Graham and Nate Allen, who are expected to be major contributors this season.

Les Bowen has an interesting column on the possibly changing dynamics of the Eagles' front office, in particular the role of team president Joe Banner, who seems to have been largely absent from the LeSean McCoy negotiations.

So, here's what we have on this Philadelphia Eagles thing today.

We have a report, from the well respected Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, that paints coach Andy Reid in a power struggle with ownership and the front office and says that Reid wanted to pursue Peyton Manning when Manning became available:

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Jim O'Connor/US PresswireDid Andy Reid want to make a run at Peyton Manning? The Eagles' coach denies it.

Two NFL insiders, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said that Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid was ready to walk away from the Eagles if he didn't get more personnel control, and now he has it. We've seen a flurry of decisive moves by the Eagles in recent weeks, including finally cutting a blockbuster deal with receiver DeSean Jackson; extending two good soldiers, defensive end Trent Cole and right tackle Todd Herremans, outbidding the Ravens to keep guard Evan Mathis; and trading for Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans.

Something else about the Eagles: Reid wanted to jump in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, despite the signing of Michael Vick to a six-year, $100-million contract last season. Talks never got too serious, the insiders say, because Manning didn't like the idea of playing against his brother Eli, quarterback of the New York Giants, at least twice a season.

And we have a statement from Reid, released by the Eagles, that disputes pretty much everything Sam wrote:

"We look into everything, as all teams do. And I have the highest regard for Peyton Manning. But as I said publicly last month, that wasn't the direction we were heading in. Michael is our guy.

"As far as the personnel control, I have had final say on personnel matters for quite some time here and that's never been an issue or a point of contention.

"Our front office works very well together and that's one of our strengths."

So, couple of things on this:

I have no reason to doubt Sam's reporting, or the idea that people in the know told him exactly what he ended up reporting. But I question the conclusion, apparently reached by Sam's sources, that the Eagles' offseason moves reflect an assertion of greater control by Reid. Sure, the Eagles have acted less aggressively on the free-agent market this year than they did last year. But last year was the exception, and Reid has explained it many times by saying the team identified last year's offseason as a unique market with unique opportunities. The way the Eagles have acted this offseason is more in line with what they've done in the past, in a front-office structure that allows Reid final say in personnel decisions but in which he works closely with GM Howie Roseman and team president Joe Banner.

As for Manning, I don't think there's ever a situation in which a quarterback hits the market and Reid doesn't at least consider making a run at him. Remember, Vick didn't seem to make sense for the Eagles either when they got him. Reid believes strongly in the value of quarterbacks, in the importance of depth at the position and in his and his staff's ability to get the best out of any quarterback who enters their system. I'm certain that, once it became apparent that Manning was hitting the market, Reid and the Eagles' brass discussed the idea of pursuing him. I have no way of knowing how far such discussions progressed, but Reid seems intent on making sure everyone knows they never got serious.

The Eagles, like most high-profile professional sports teams these days, prefer to control the flow of information. They're generally pretty friendly about it, but they don't like it when their private plans or other business get aired in public. So while it seems odd to put out a statement denying Sam's report (because now, if they don't rush to deny the next such report, people will jump to the conclusion that it's true), it's in character for Reid and the Eagles to want to be out in front of this or any story about their team.

I'm not inclined to believe everything's hunky-dory between Reid, the front office and ownership in the wake of one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. And I believe there's a lot of tension and pressure heading into this season, in which the pressure on Reid will be at an all-time high. But I don't believe Reid found himself, this offseason, in a position to demand greater control under threat of quitting. First of all, he already had a ton of control. And second of all, his job security's not at an all-time high to begin with. My sense is that there's a lot of behind-the-scenes chatter right now about the Eagles, who are one of the most intriguing teams and situations to watch in 2012, and that this isn't the last time some details are going to come to light and get shot down by people who'd like us to believe everything's peaceful and happy in Philly.

The New England Patriots play a 3-4 defense. Except when they play a 4-3. Vince Wilfork is a nose tackle. Except when he's playing defensive end. The Patriots' defense is an amoeba, and designed to be deceptive and confusing to opposing offenses. Ashley Fox took a look at what the New York Giants can expect to see from "that mad scientist in New England" in the Super Bowl a week from Sunday, and the ways in which the Giants are preparing for it.

Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora says he's only ever had two fights on the football field, and they've both been with Patriots tackle Matt Light. Umenyiora said he expects to "rekindle" things in the Super Bowl with Light, who "really gets under his skin." According to Mike Garafolo, Umenyiora joked that Light is more important to the Patriots than Umenyiora is to the Giants, "so if we both fight, we'll both get kicked out and JPP and Tuck will have a field day out there." Strategy!

Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was asked on the radio about the idea of bringing Peyton Manning to the Redskins. Since Manning plays for another team, Shanahan's not really supposed to talk about whether the Redskins would pursue him. But he spoke in general terms about the idea of whether Manning would be appealing if he were to become available (which he almost certainly will). Kyle didn't exactly throw cold water on the idea, saying the only question he'd have would be health, and that "if the doctors say he's healthy, and he says he's healthy, then that's enough for me."

Paul Domowitch spoke to Philadelphia Eagles president Joe Banner about the upcoming free-agent class. I'm sure the words "Eagles" and "free agency" are still sending chills down the spines of the fans who remember how exciting last year's Eagles free-agent period went.

How about the Dallas Cowboys for Manning, huh? Apparently, this has been raised on the radio in Dallas, where I guess NBA basketball isn't enough to keep them busy this time of year and they have to think up crazy ideas like trading their best offensive player because the defense collapsed and gave away the season. Anyway, Todd Archer shoots it down, as he should.

T-minus five days until Giants-Cowboys for all of the NFC East marbles. How will we get there? We'll follow the links.

New York Giants

Giants coach Tom Coughlin was in a downright giddy mood as he addressed reporters Monday. He limped to the podium as a result of whatever leg injury he sustained when Giants running back D.J. Ware ran into him on the sideline Saturday, but he joked a lot about the injury -- even cracking that he'd had to cut Ware from the team for injuring him and said he doesn't plan for it to limit him in any way as he prepares for Sunday.

The Giants are hopeful they could get a trio of injured players -- defensive end Osi Umenyiora, wide receiver Mario Manningham and tight end Jake Ballard -- back in time for the division title game. But Monday was too early in the week to know for sure, and nothing more will be known on any of them until Wednesday's practice. Umenyiora did some sort of light work at the field house with a trainer Monday morning, but I can't vouch for the extent of it. Coughlin didn't sound real hopeful when asked about Umenyiora in his news conference.

Dallas Cowboys

Everything becomes an issue in Dallas, and so the fact that Jerry Jones showed up on the sideline during the first quarter Saturday obviously led some to conclude this had something to do with his opinion of Jason Garrett's coaching. Garrett says that's not the case, and the fact is there's no real reason not to believe him. Jones is a big believer in continuity at the head coaching spot. He's shown patience with every coach he's ever had but one, and he never misses a chance to talk about how much he regrets that one. Garrett's job is in no danger whatsoever, and frankly I can't understand why people keep insisting on talking as though it is.

Dez Bryant has a new agent, having switched from Eugene Parker, who shepherded him through the draft process and negotiated his rookie contract, to Drew Rosenhaus. Fans get panicky about what this means, when a player switches to Rosenhaus. But Bryant's not going anywhere for at least two more years anyway, and my guess is the only real impact this has is that Bryant will be extremely wealthy as long as he stays healthy and productive. But I guess you could have assumed that anyway.

Philadelphia Eagles

Bob Grotz strongly disagrees with Andy Reid's announced decision to play all of his starters in Sunday's season finale against the Redskins. In particular, Bob believes LeSean McCoy's injured ankle should keep him on the sideline. Bob feels so strongly about this that he thinks, if Reid won't sit McCoy down, team president Joe Banner should step in and order him to do it. If that were to happen, I believe it would portend bad things in the long term for the relationship between Reid and the team. Maybe even in the short term, honestly.

And Bob Ford thinks the Eagles are kidding themselves if they consider this season anything other than a failure, no matter how strongly they're finishing it. I mean, he's right, but what are they supposed to do? If they were hanging their heads and not trying, they'd be getting ripped for that. It's not ridiculous to think there might be some 2012 value in finishing 2011 with a stretch of games that allows these guys to feel like good football players again.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan said Monday that the Redskins turned out to have less depth on the roster than he thought they had when he took over as coach in 2010. But one position at which he feels very deep is running back. With rookies Roy Helu and Evan Royster having impressed in the second half of this season and starter Tim Hightower due back from injury in time for next season, the Redskins should have a lot of options at running back going forward, which is a very good thing.

John Keim addresses the less-depth-than-Shanahan-thought thing and also the quarterback question in his notes. He thinks that Kyle Shanahan's recent talk about the importance of limiting turnovers sends a clear signal that the Redskins don't think Rex Grossman can be their starting quarterback again next year.

Sal Paolantonio has a column up that asks a very good question: "Why has the Philadelphia Eagles' front office -- general manager Howie Roseman, team president Joe Banner and team owner Jeff Lurie -- been silent in the face of such overwhelming public disenchantment with head coach Andy Reid?" Been wondering this a bit myself, and I agree with Sal's conclusion that it means one of two things:

1. Either they don't feel it's necessary to show Reid support because they've offered it privately and/or don't feel the need to legitimize the hysterical fan reaction to a season in which they're all surely at least as disappointed as the fans are.

2. They haven't decided yet what they're going to do.

All along, I have believed that it was the first thing. And it still may be. Reid has two years left on his contract, an outstanding record prior to this year and deserves a chance to come back in 2012 and try to right the 2011 wrongs. Look at the way a similar situation was handled last year a little further up I-95. Moments after the New York Giants' season ended last year, team owner John Mara told reporters that of course coach Tom Coughlin would be back. He'd told Coughlin the same thing weeks earlier, but nobody knew. Most times, these teams would rather we didn't know everything they're up to.

But as Sal writes, in Reid's case:

The level of public vitriol begs for response. Any business entity can't be happy when the public agenda is being dictated by outsiders with a constant drumbeat of anger and disapproval. It's PR 101: Don't let somebody else drive the message. Any politician will tell you that. Define yourself, or you will be defined.

Which is why option No. 2 can't be completely discounted. One-quarter of the season remains, and if the Eagles embarrass themselves four straight times the way they did in their most recent game, 10 days ago in Seattle, even a front office inclined to keep Reid might find itself re-thinking matters. Sal wonders what would happen if they did:

Would Reid find another head-coaching job elsewhere? Perhaps San Diego, if Norv Turner is dismissed as expected. Reid has a home in Los Angeles. His agent, Bob LaMonte, is based in the Bay Area and knows the California football market as well as anybody.

Would Reid move into the Eagles' front office and hire one of LaMonte's clients -- Jon Gruden -- to become the new head coach?

It's all speculation at this point, because the Eagles haven't told anybody anything. Either they think all of this anger directed at the winningest coach in their history is foolish and unworthy of a response, or they're listening and thinking about what to do. Either way, this is the dominant storyline of the remainder of this Eagles' season, which continues this afternoon in Miami.

It's getting to the point where I'm worried I'm going to injure my knee just by writing about these teams. Every day, a new knee injury in this division. Wednesday brought two, both in Dallas. Fact, I'm going to go put a brace on before I finish writing today's links, just in case...

Dallas Cowboys

Cornerback Mike Jenkins and rookie right tackle Tyron Smith both suffered hyperextended knees in practice Wednesday, calling the status of both players into question for Sunday night's season opener against the Jets in New Jersey. Reports earlier in the day indicated that Smith could be out 2-to-4 weeks, but Calvin Watkins is saying now it's possible the injury wasn't as serious as originally thought and that Jenkins and Smith could practice Thursday. That'd be good news for the Cowboys, but it's also the kind of thing a team wouldn't mind having out there publicly if it were very thin at cornerback and offensive line and was trying to bring in some players to help offset fresh injuries to those positions. Just saying.

Mac Engel has a radical idea, and he says he's serious: Bench Tony Romo for Week 1 because the Jets' defense is so fearsome and the Cowboys are too banged up in too many spots to protect Romo from serious harm. Basically, Mac's saying sacrifice the first game of the season (and maybe Jon Kitna's health) to save the final 15. I can see his point. I just don't think things are that dire. And what kind of precedent would it set? (Hint: Bad one.)

New York Giants

Rookie Greg Jones was the most popular guy in the Giants' locker room when it opened for media access Wednesday. Jones appears to be in line to start at middle linebacker in the wake of the injury to Jonathan Goff. He says he's ready, his teammates express confidence in him and the Giants insist that, while the knee injuries that have wracked their defense this preseason have shaken them up, they believe they have enough depth on the roster to handle them. We'll see. My thought is that Greg Jones may be very talented and a very good middle linebacker someday, but that taking a rookie who had no offseason program and making him your starting middle linebacker four days before the season starts is a recipe for trouble.

Devin Thomas said he's looking forward to playing against the Redskins and Mike Shanahan on Sunday, but that he harbors no ill will toward Shanahan for cutting him last year. Shanahan and Thomas spoke highly of each other Wednesday, with Shanahan saying he believed Thomas had the talent to be a star and Thomas saying the speech Shanahan gave him while cutting him helped inspire him to work harder.

Philadelphia Eagles

High hopes are one thing, and maybe even justified. But John Smallwood writes that the Eagles aren't even the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl yet. John ranks them behind the two teams playing tonight.

Worried the team may not have enough quarters left in the piggy bank for a DeSean Jackson contract? Don't. Word is, the Eagles are still about $8 million under the salary cap, even after all of their offseason moves. I don't think that counts the new contract Joselio Hanson signed Wednesday, but there's no way he's eating up very much of it. Remarkable work Joe Banner does there in Philly with that cap.

Washington Redskins

Rich Campbell wonders whether this flare-up LaRon Landry had with the team's training staff over the hamstring setback that will keep him out of Sunday's opener represents a trend with the Redskins. Rich cites a list of ill-timed muscle pulls over the past year and says it's something to keep in mind.

Rick Maese checks in to see how John Beck is coping with losing out to Rex Grossman for the Redskins' starting quarterback job. Not surprisingly, Beck is upbeat, positive, optimistic and eager to talk about it. He's also surely smart enough to know that he's likely to get his chance at some point this year if he shows any kind of improvement week-to-week in practice.

Thursday and Friday were great, great days for the Philadelphia Eagles, locking up Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Vince Young and a couple of other key pieces to the Super Bowl run they've clearly announced their plans to make. Friday was a good night to be Andy Reid and Howie Roseman and Joe Banner. They had every reason to hit their pillows confident in the belief that they'd done great things for their football franchise.

But when those three men wake up Saturday, there will still be a couple of items on their to-do list. And the most important has now become a new contract for top receiver DeSean Jackson.

Jackson has made it clear, in case you haven't been following, that he's unhappy with his contract. He should be. A base salary of $565,000 is utterly pitiful for a player of Jackson's abilities and accomplishments. There can't be a single person drawing breath at Lehigh University right now who disputes that. NFL players in Jackson's situation get their contracts re-worked all the time, and who knows? If the lockout hadn't wiped out the league's spring and most of its summer, Jackson and the Eagles might have had something worked out right now.

But it did, and they don't, and Jackson's not in camp and the Eagles have to do what they can to make it right. Signing Asomugha and Young and Jason Babin... those are all wonderful moves that will surely help the Eagles "fly on the road to victory," as their incongruous team song urges them to do. But by making all of these Super Bowl-directed moves, they've put themselves in a position from which they have little choice but to square things with Jackson.

"The two situations are not interrelated," team president Banner told ESPN.com's Ashley Fox in the wake of the Asomugha news Friday. "DeSean's situation will play out in whatever way it does. We're going to see what happens here. I'm not going to go down the path on that one way or the other."

Non-committal, which is fine. They may well be working on something about which we don't know. Wouldn't be the first time. Wouldn't be the first time this week, even. But if they're not, they're going to have to start soon. Because the Eagles are obviously determined to win this season's Super Bowl, and given everything else they're doing they can't afford to risk letting Jackson's situation wreck it.

If they don't feel like making the long-term decision on Jackson now, I can see their reasons to hesitate. Maybe they're worried he has some diva tendencies. (Counter-argument: He's not the first top receiver about whom that's been said.) Maybe they wonder why they should give No. 1 receiver money to a guy who only caught 47 passes in 2010. (Counter-argument: But Jackson's one of the most dangerous and thrilling players in the league when the ball is in his hands. And if it's not in his hands enough ... well, that would seem to be a correctable problem, now wouldn't it?) Jackson is no sure bet for future reliability, and their concerns may be real and even justified.

But I just don't see how they have a choice in the matter now, after all they've been doing. Jackson is surely watching all of these signings and aware that the Eagles aren't afraid of spending money. He knows his salary is way too low and knows they do too. If adding years and down-the-road dollars is what they need to do in order to get this year's number up to respectability, then they must. This season has become the only priority, and taking a future-years risk to protect that priority has become a necessary step.

Roseman, the general manager, spoke Friday night about how well the Eagles have positioned themselves for the present and the future, especially with the pick they got in the Kevin Kolb deal. If they throw Jackson's future into doubt, they're throwing the rest of the team's future right in there with it. Jackson isn't going to play for that weak salary, and the longer this dispute goes, the higher it takes the risk of doing something that damages this season.

The Eagles' moves so far this offseason have been bold and aggressive and clearly directed at the highest of possible goals. They need to make at least one more move that fits that description. They need to bite the bullet and give Jackson his money. After the two days they just had, they really don't have much choice.

Later today, as part of our "Dream Team of Tomorrow" project, you will see my list of the players I think will be the stars of the NFC East in the years 2014-2016. The Eagles' Brandon Graham is the kind of player who could make his way onto such a list -- a 2010 first-round draft pick whose job is to sack quarterbacks. But he's not on my list (which only includes one player per team anyway), because he's injured and might not see the field for a long while. According to reports that surfaced Wednesday, Graham had microfracture surgery on his right knee last December and the Eagles didn't reveal that.

Microfracture surgery is a very serious procedure that involves, as Jeff McLane writes, "the drilling of small holes in the bone in an attempt to stimulate cartilage growth" and likely will keep Graham out longer than was initially forecast when he injured his knee. So in spite of Graham's protests to the contrary ("Everybody needs to worry about this lockout, if anything. I got this!" he wrote on Twitter), it looks as if the Eagles won't be able to count on much, if anything, from Graham in 2011. That's a shame for the young man and the reason we've been hearing so much noise about Philly possibly trying to find a pass-rushing defensive end in free agency. This is a go-for-it year for the Eagles, and they can't wait around for Graham to get healthy. If he can help, so much the better. But if he does come back in 2011, he's likely to find himself playing behind a veteran end.

More Eagles

The Eagles continue to hope the lockout ends in time for them to hold their training camp at Lehigh University, as they always do. Team president Joe Banner tells Philly.com that it's a priority for the team. Interesting nugget in Jon Tamari's story: Apparently, if the Eagles do have training camp at home in Philadelphia this year, fans won't be allowed to see any of it, because the team has an agreement with the residents in the area surrounding its regular-season training facility that they won't hold any fan events there.

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant says he's dropped 10 pounds and is back to his college playing weight. He says it's helped him get quicker. He says doctors haven't cleared him for football activities yet, but he doesn't sound worried that it'll be too long. And he doesn't want to get into a war of words with Deion Sanders, who keeps needling him in various interviews. Probably a good idea, Dez.

Tony Romo said he believes the lockout will be over "shortly," his broken collarbone is completely healed and that he loves the way the player-organized workouts have gone for the Cowboys. Then he went and played golf. I also understand you can now find his wedding video online, though I don't have a reliable link and frankly wasn't all that interested. Sounds like a lot of Coldplay involved.

New York Giants

Prince Amukamara is apparently seeking and getting some advice this offseason from fellow Nebraska alum Ndamukong Suh on how to handle the transition to life as an NFL player. Good move, Prince.

Giants 101 takes a look back at Victor Cruz's journey to the Giants' 2010 active roster and wonders whether he'll be able to crack the lineup as a receiver on this year's team. Won't be easy, as the Giants remain loaded at that position. But I know the coaching staff thinks a lot of Cruz.

Washington Redskins

Terrence Austin, a 2010 seventh-round draft pick who managed to make the Redskins' roster last year, hopes to be able to be a bigger part of the offense in 2011. Hey, look: I have no idea who from among Washington's current receiving group will emerge or even play. But someone will. If you're a receiver on the back end of the Redskins' roster, you have hope and opportunity.

You will see solar panels in the parking lot if you go to a game at FedEx Field this year. The Redskins are working on trying to reduce their carbon footprint, which is nice, being socially responsible like that. Now, about that nickname ...

Dallas Cowboys

The NFL rules committee's proposed special-teams changes -- moving up the spot for kickoffs by 5 yards to the 35-yard line -- could hurt a strong-legged kicker such as David Buehler.

Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram looks at the numerous hits owner Jerry Jones has taken in the past year.

New York Giants

The Giants have arranged a pre-draft visit with University of Georgia linebacker Justin Houston.

The team's website details former receiver Amani Toomer's experience running the New York City marathon.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles president Joe Banner was shocked the NFLPA walked away from negotiations without countering the owners' latest offer. "We thought we would be damn close to a deal. But to not even give us a counterproposal? That was really stunning," Banner said.

The Inquirer's position-by-position look at the team continues with the defensive line.

Washington Redskins

The Redskins have requested that The Washington Post stop using the team's name in its sports blogs.

Dallas Cowboys

Getting acquainted with new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's scheme was a priority heading into the lockout.

Mickey Spagnola looks ahead to next month's draft.

New York Giants

Giants center Shaun O'Hara says he believes the players union was left with no choice but to decertify.

Osi Umenyiora reportedly "jumped at the chance" to be included in the lawsuit against the NFL owners.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and president Joe Banner in a letter to Eagles fans: "We want you to know our focus is on preparation for the 2011 season and we are going to continue to do everything we can to strengthen our football team."

Washington Redskins

Vinny Cerrato continues to break down film of potential draft picks, although he isn't currently working for an NFL team.

Redskins defensive end Vonnie Holliday expects players to get together during the lockout to work out.

Dallas Cowboys

A marriage between Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and the Cowboys doesn't make sense.

Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller was "bummed out" he didn't get a chance to interview with the team at the combine.

New York Giants

Could Tiki Barber's comeback lead him to Pittsburgh?

Philadelphia Eagles

Pete Prisco attempts to put a value on quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Eagles president Joe Banner is reportedly one of several NFL team executives involved in labor negotiations this week.

Washington Redskins

Even if he is available when the Redskins pick at No. 10, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. doesn't think Newton is a good fit for the organization.

CSNwashington.com’s Rich Tandler and Ryan O’Halloran debate how the Redskins should proceed with filling a need at receiver.

Philadelphia Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann may have been paying Joe Banner and Andy Reid a back-handed compliment Friday, but it was a compliment nonetheless. He believes the Philadelphia Eagles might actually benefit from a lockout because Banner and Reid seem to lead the league in forming contingency plans. (Please, no jokes about cornerback).

"If you are an Eagles fan, you might just want to root for at least a little bit of labor chaos -- because planning and anticipating is the absolute strength of club president Joe Banner and coach Andy Reid," writes Hofmann. "At the risk of an e-mail avalanche, you have to give Banner and Reid that much. Years ago, Banner was the guy who figured out the key loophole in the NFL salary cap before anyone else did, giving the Eagles a lot of extra maneuverability and cap space over the years. And as for Reid, if he isn't always at his best on Sunday with the timeouts and the whatnot, he is really good on Wednesday. His teams are well-prepared and play hard a very high percentage of the time."

Hofmann doesn't think it was a coincidence that the highly organized Washington Redskins of the 1980s won Super Bowls in strike-shortened seasons. And he seems to think that Reid could finally find the promised land if things get a little chaotic. I sort of feel like Hofmann's reaching a bit with this angle, but I admire a writer who's willing to find a somewhat entertaining angle to this labor mess.

Are the Eagles secretly rooting against a settlement before August? I highly doubt it, but I do agree that Banner, GM Howie Roseman and Reid might have a better shot at exploiting this situation than a lot of other teams.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick might be the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, but that won't keep him off Oprah's bad list. Vick was supposed to tape an interview that would run next Thursday, but he called the show's producer and canceled his appearance.

"After careful consideration, I will need to postpone the taping of the Oprah Winfrey interview," Vick said in a statement. "I admire and respect Oprah and hope to be able to participate in an interview in the future."

Since Oprah's about to call it quits on her famous show, I doubt Vick will get a second chance. And why would Vick need to "carefully consider" appearing with Oprah? I know she's a noted animal activist, but I don't think she would've been overly tough on the quarterback. Perhaps someone from the league office suggested that it might be good for Vick to keep a low profile.

But for a guy who's looking to add more endorsements to his portfolio, backing out on Oprah is a curious decision. Let's hope she can find a fill-in on such short notice. Joe Banner's been pretty forthcoming regarding the future of the Eagles. Perhaps he can stand in for Vick and discuss Andy Reid's future.

I'll have a lot to say about the Philadelphia Eagles today, but let's start with a quote from president Joe Banner:

"We're trying to win a championship every year," Banner told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday. "We honestly haven't gone into any of the recent years without thinking we had a reasonable chance to win. If we don't win it next year, we're not going to make any excuses.

"We're not setting the bar any lower than going all the way to win a championship. We don't have a problem with people holding us to that."

Why do those words seem so empty right now?

Like many of you, I circled Oct. 3 on the calendar the day the NFL released its regular-season schedule. Donovan McNabb's return to Philadelphia as the quarterback of the Washington Redskins was appointment viewing and would offer endless opportunities to examine old wounds.

But now that it's here, it seems like all those answers we've been seeking will go wanting. Eagles coach Andy Reid, a man who has played fast and loose with the truth in recent days, put his legacy on the line when he traded McNabb to the Redskins. For 11 seasons, Reid and McNabb's careers had been intertwined in what was a successful and ultimately exasperating run.

It would be poor form for him to admit this in a public forum, but Reid is still astounded the Eagles haven't won at least a couple of Super Bowls. Even in the early days of the Reid era, there was a belief that he and president Joe Banner had a blueprint that was foolproof. Fans may have booed the decision to choose McNabb over Ricky Williams in the draft, but it turned out pretty well.

In 11 seasons, McNabb displayed remarkable leadership in leading the Eagles to five NFC title games and one Super Bowl. But the flipside of that is he received most of the blame for losing four of those title games and the Super Bowl against the Patriots. Terrell Owens would famously accuse McNabb of throwing up in the huddle in that game, a charge that has stuck even though it's been debunked by many.

He is undoubtedly the best quarterback in the history of the Eagles, but he was too much of a lightning rod to be the most beloved. That title probably belongs to Randall Cunningham, whose tenure wasn't nearly as successful as McNabb's.

I've never lived or worked in Philadelphia, but my sense is that fans relate more to athletes who wear their emotions (and losses) on their sleeves. Mike Schmidt was one of the greatest sluggers of all time, but he was too stoic to engender much passion from fans. Sixers such as Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson never won titles, but their outlandish behavior and passion struck a nerve with fans.

McNabb didn't hurt enough after losses and he seemed too quick to chuckle after interceptions. But quite honestly, his ability to insulate himself from the criticism is also what allowed him to be so successful. On Wednesday morning, I asked Kevin Kolb what was the most important thing he learned from observing McNabb for three seasons.

"He had a good attitude at all times," said Kolb. "He never let the media or rough times affect his demeanor in the locker room."

For the record, I've never believed the little smirk McNabb wore to postgame news conferences or giggling on the sideline translated to a lack of passion. No matter what he says publicly this week -- and every word will be carefully parsed -- I think he was humiliated by the Eagles' decision to trade him to a division rival. He told me in early August that he would "put a big bear hug" on Andy Reid before this game and that he didn't have any hard feelings against the organization. I believe the hug will happen, but I also think there's lingering resentment.

Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who will call the game for Fox on Sunday, doesn't buy the theory that Reid sent McNabb to the Redskins out of the kindness of his heart. Like a lot of us, he thinks it spoke to Reid's confidence that the Redskins would remain a non-threat to the Eagles' playoff chances.

"There were a lot of people who were critical of Andy for making the trade with Washington," Aikman told the Philadelphia Daily News this week. "The way I looked at it is the Eagles want to win as badly as anybody. Why would they trade a quarterback to a division rival if they felt he was going to keep them from beating that team? The answer is they wouldn't. They wouldn't do that.

"Clearly, Andy felt strongly enough about what he had that he was willing to make that trade and not feel that it would adversely impact the Philadelphia Eagles."

As a brief sidebar, Reid once attempted to lure Aikman out of retirement when McNabb was injured early in his career. Aikman gave it some serious thought, but ultimately declined. If you think it was hard adjusting to McNabb in burgundy and gold, how do you think Aikman would have looked in green and white?

Over the past 11 seasons, it wasn't always easy to decide whether Reid or McNabb deserved the most credit for wins and losses. In looking back, it seems like McNabb probably received too much of the blame for the Eagles' failure to win a Super Bowl. But some of that's the nature of the quarterback position.

McNabb and Reid still have time to redefine their legacies. And Sunday should give us an interesting window into their futures. The Eagles are the better team right now, but I actually think that works in McNabb's favor. The Eagles made this move because they didn't think McNabb could come back to haunt them.

Reid told reporters Wednesday this game was "not about Donovan ... or Andy Reid or Michael Vick or anyone else."

No, I'm not buying that one either.